relative risk reduction

File:Illustration of risk reduction.svg

In epidemiology, the relative risk reduction (RRR) or efficacy is the relative decrease in the risk of an adverse event in the exposed group compared to an unexposed group. It is computed as $(I\_u\; -\; I\_e)\; /\; I\_u$, where $I\_e$ is the incidence in the exposed group, and $I\_u$ is the incidence in the unexposed group. If the risk of an adverse event is increased by the exposure rather than decreased, the term relative risk increase (RRI) is used, and it is computed as $(I\_e\; -\; I\_u)/I\_u$.{{Cite book|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199976720.001.0001/acref-9780199976720|title=Dictionary of Epidemiology - Oxford Reference|chapter=A Dictionary of Epidemiology |year=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199976720.001.0001|isbn=9780199976720|access-date=2018-05-09|editor1-last=Porta|editor1-first=Miquel}}{{Cite book|title=Epidemiology : beyond the basics|last1=Szklo|first1=Moyses|last2=Nieto|first2=F. Javier|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2019|isbn=9781284116595|edition=4th.|location=Burlington, Massachusetts|pages=97|oclc=1019839414}} If the direction of risk change is not assumed, the term relative effect is used, and it is computed in the same way as relative risk increase.{{Cite book|title=Epidemiology : an introduction|last=J.|first=Rothman, Kenneth|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780199754557|edition=2nd|location=New York, NY|pages=59|oclc=750986180}}